Is it possible for hair to thin from long term stress?

[seroyal223]

Hi. I'm 19 years old, and I've been through a lot of stress these last 2-3 years. I've always had a very full thick head of hair, in the past I always though it was too thick. So these past 6 months I decided to only wash my hair once a month to try and make my hair less frizzy and stiff, and it worked really well, my hair is really soft and nice looking now, and it's a lot looser. But now that my hair is looser and I'm able to wear it longer and part it, I noticed that my scalp is pretty visible where I part my hair.

I have no idea if this is actually a sign of my hair thinning or if it's always been like that and I never noticed cause my hair was always so frizzy before. There appears to be no family history of hair loss for me. Both my parents are in their 50's and have long full heads of hair, and all 4 of my grandparents died with full heads of hair. So I'm wondering is it possible that stress alone could cause hair to thin? I remember about a year ago when I was really stressed I went through a period where I was shedding hair a lot, but that stopped. Anyway so in your opinion does it sound like my hair could be thinning and if so could it be from stress? Or do you think it's just the changes I've made to my hair hygiene.

Thanks

 

[kirk]

Hey Bro,

Stress may or may not cause shedding, but one thing's for sure, it does not add any hair either so try to relax. Also, There is a difference between genetic hair loss and hair loss related to environmental factors such as stress and hygiene. Spend a few minutes reading through the forums, and you will get your answers.

 

[Benjamin36]

I didn't think it would before, but I was talking to my doctor a while back about my less than fantastic results while on finasteride and he asked me if I have been through some stress lately. The thing is, who hasn't been through stress? But I figure there isn't any harm in doing your best to prevnet yourself from getting caught up in stress. Although, it's kind of hard to not get stressed when your hair is thinning.